An Egyptian court has postponed the verdict in the case of Australian journalist Peter Greste and two Al-Jazeera colleagues to August 29.

Sunday was the latest postponement to affect the long-running trial, criticised worldwide by press freedom advocates and human rights activists.

The three Al-Jazeera journalists – Mr Greste, Canadian national Mohammed Fahmy, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed – were detained in December 2013 while working for the Doha-based network.

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The trio first were sentenced to prison before Egypt’s highest court ordered a retrial on charges of them allegedly being part of the Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have declared a terrorist organisation, and airing falsified footage intended to damage national security.

Egypt deported Mr Greste in February.

Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohammed later were released on bail.

Mr 
Fhamy, who was in court on Sunday, criticised the delay.

“Verdict postponed until August 29th The audacity & continuous disrespect to our rights is unprecedented!” he tweeted minutes after the judge postponed the verdict.

A guilty verdict for the journalists may further embarrass the government, as it resumes close ties with Washington after a diplomatic rift in 2013.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Johan Kerry and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry launched strategic talks in Cairo to repair ties.

Mr Fahmy and Mr Greste received seven-year prison terms in the original trial, while producer Mr Mohamed was jailed for 10 years.

The case further strained Egypt’s ties with Western countries which had condemned a deadly crackdown on ousted president Mohammed Morsi’s supporters.

An appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the original judgment lacked evidence against the trio.

The trial had come against the backdrop of a diplomatic spat between Egypt and Qatar, which supported Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement.